GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 5 - May 2008

H appy Birthday to us! With this issue, our fifth, we mark the first anniversary of the GPWA Times Magazine. Congratulations to the entire staff for their exceptional effort. The magazine was a hit from the start, and thanks to their hard work each issue has surpassed its predecessors in quality of both content and design. In our cover story this time around, Alistair Nield of Webscreen Systems enlightens us about some of the ways cyber criminals prey upon online gaming sites, including the use of botnets to launch DDoS attacks, which are almost (but not completely) impossible to repel. On a cheerier note, our own Rebecca Liggero gives us an up close and personal introduction to online poker’s Top 10 characters, and Gary Trask weighs the pros and cons of using freerolls as a marketing tool. Also, be sure to see the winning caption for Issue 4’s “captionless cartoon” contest, and take a moment to come up with a caption for this issue’s cartoon! And as usual, we’ve included some interesting, entertaining interviews with GPWA affiliates and affiliate managers. Two of this issue’s interviewees mention Orwell’s 1984 as a book everyone should read (or revisit), particularly for its relevance to a lot of what’s going on today in the online gaming regulatory environment. For the latest legal perspective, read Joe Kelly and Gary Ehrlich’s piece on the progress of the U.S. government’s “Cold War” against our industry. As our magazine begins its second year, we welcome your comments and suggestions for how we can make it even better. Please let us know what you think! Sincerely, Michael A. Corfman Executive Director, GPWA Letter from the director GPWA Executive Director: Michael Corfman Marketing Director: Andrea Mullaney ProgramManager: Steven Corfman Customer Service Manager: Eric Almquist Program Coordinator: Kim DeForest GPWA Times Magazine Managing Editor: Vin Narayanan Senior Editor: Gary Trask Copy Chief: Bill Riley Designer: George Choi Advertising To advertise in the GPWA Times, please e-mail: sales@gpwa.org Subscriptions To subscribe to the GPWA Times, simply register at gpwa.org and provide your mailing address. It’s FREE! ISSN 1941-9872 14 Rebecca’s Top-10 Personalities of Online Poker Rebecca Liggero is back at the GPWA and in this issue she anoints her favorite men, women and chimpanzees (yes, that’s right, chimps) from the online poker industry. 30 How secure is your online business ? One of the most daunting concerns for anyone in the online gaming industry is making sure the Web sites you work with are safe and secure. Alistair Nield of Webscreen Systems explains exactly what kinds of things you should fear and what you can do to foil them. 44 The ever-evolving freeroll The use of freeroll poker tournaments is still a staple of marketing, but changes have been made in the manner in which they are utilized. 46 America’s ‘Cold War’ against online gambling Gaming law experts Joe Kelly and Gary Ehrlich analyze how the U.S. Department of Justice has struggled to criminalize online gambling operations almost two years following the arrival of the UIGEA. Departments: 6 Webmaster news 8 By The Numbers 10 Cartoon Caption Contest 12 GPWA Crossword Puzzle 16 Affiliate Interview Series 24 Events calendar 26 GPWA sponsors 36 Affiliate manager interviews 42 GPWA seal approval program Copyright © 2008 Gambling Portal Webmasters Association. All rights reserved.